G&B: 2023: Douro

Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble

All day sailing from Régua
to Barca d'Alva (near Spanish border)

Friday 17th November 2023

After a quiet night docked in Régua, we departed the town before breakfast. We would be sailing all the way to the Spanish border today and it was important that the ship arrived on time at the three locks en-route in order to avoid delays and to ensure that we arrived at our destination before nightfall. At the height of summer with longer days, this isn't too much of an issue, but with shorter days in late autumn, we needed to keep on the move, especially as this is the most scenic part of the river and we didn't want to miss any of it.

The map of our journey today, with Régua on the left and Barca d'Alva on the right. The Spanish border is formed by the river between Barca d'Alva and Vega de Terron.

Once again, the full stretch of the river for context.

Soon after leaving our docking location, we arrived at the lock which would raise us up to the Régua Dam.

Almost as soon as we exited the lock, the clouds began to clear rapidly and for the rest of the day, we had gorgeous warm sunshine for some of the most beautiful scenery on the Douro. We couldn't have asked for more.

Standing on the top deck and seeing two trains passing by was the cherry on the top for Geoff!

At some points, the river became quite narrow, with many twists and turns.

At around lunchtime, we arrived at the lock which would raise us up to the Valeira Dam.

Another ship was making its way downstream as we exited the lock.

From the lounge, we saw some interesting rock formations (enhanced by the reflections from the ship's windows).

At around 3pm, we arrived at the lock would raise us up (for the last time on this journey) to the Pocinho Dam.

We were torn between wanting to be on deck while we were rising up the lock and simultaneously wanting to be at the cheese, charcuterie and wine tasting event, hosted by executive chef, Marcelino. Somehow we managed to do both!

Afterwards, with the afternoon shadows beginning to lengthen, we still had almost two hours of sailing left before our arrival at Barca d'Alva. The light was perfect and this was probably the best couple of hours on the entire trip.

Approaching the bridge at Barca d'Alva as the sun set. We were aiming to dock behind the two ships on the right. Beyond the bridge, the Spanish port of Vega de Terron can just be seen. The hill in the centre above the bridge is in Spain. The land on either side of the bridge is in Portugal. Tomorrow, we would cross that bridge on a coach for our morning excusion, while the majority of people were going into Spain for a day-long trip to Salamanca, also by coach.